Duplicator



Oct. 25, 1932. E. G. M C ALMONT DUPLICATOR V H y// Filed Dec. 8, 1931.Pm wnim anvemtoz Patented Oct. .25, 1932 EDWARD G. MCCALMON T, 01 WESTENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY DUPLIGA'IOR Application filed December a, 1931.Serial No. 579,700.

The present invention relates to duplicators for use in printing aplurality of copies from a stencil sheet and aims to provide certainimprovements therein.

5 The primary object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter described which is simple in construction and operation andhighly eflicient in use. Another object of the invention is to provide adevice of the type described which will produce clear cut and uniformlydark imprints, and one wherein means are provided for picking up a sheetafter bein imprinted upon, so asto facilitate and expe ite theduplicating operation. A

' still further object of the invention resides in the rovision of meanswhereby the stencil can e quickly attached and removed from the devicewithout soiling the hands of the operator.

With the foregoing and'other objects in view, my invention comprises asupporting frame having a rocker or convex bearing surface upon which issupported a resilient platen or perforated plate adapted to betemporarily deformed by operating pressure so as to cause the stencilsup orted by the frame to remain in contact with the paper beingimprinted for a fractionally longer interval than is customar with thepresent day conventional devices. l also provide means for causingadhesion of the end of the imprinted sheet to the device upon thecompletion of the printing operation, whereby said sheet end is raisedfrom the stack and thereby its removal is facilitated. The inventionalso embodies other features of novelty which will be apparent from thedetailed description which follows, when considered in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing 40 showing a preferred embodiment of myinvention, and wherein Figure 1 is a erspective view of a. hand dulicator embo ying my invention.

ig. 2 is a side elevation of the duplicator,

with parts broken away to show the construction thereof.

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially along the plane of the brokenlines 33 of Fig. 2.

I Fig. 4 is a section taken substantially along the plane of the line4-4 of Fig. 2.

secured to the frame in any desired manner,

Referring to the drawing in the various figures, of which the samereference characters are employed to designate their correipondmg parts,the duplicator consists of a rame indlcated generall by the referencecharacter A, 11({10Il which is mounted a resilient perforate metal sheetor platen B, a matting O, a stencil D, pickup means E and stenciltensioning means F.

The frame A may be of any desired or preferred construction, and as isconventional, is formed with a convex or arcua-te bearing surface sothat in performing the printing operation the device as a whole isrocked over the imprinting surface. In my present con- 55 struction theframe A consists of a pair of side members a formed of suitably rigidmaterial, said members being disposed and held in parallel relationshipby transverse bars a secured to the top of the side members a, and aconnecting bar a joining the middle points of the bar a and functioningas a handle for the device. The bottom of the members a are of convexform and covered with a cushioning strip, as indicated at a, and theends of each of the members a are preferably straight, as shown at a.The ends and bottom of the frame A are open and are preferablysubstantially closed by the perforated resilient metal plate B, the endportions 6 of so which are suitably bent upwardly around the ends of theside'members a and secured thereto in any convenient way. In mountingthe perforated plate B upon the frame, it will be noted, and it isimportant, that the arcuaate or convex portion 6 of said plate be spacedfrom the convex surface of the side members a of the frame in order thatsaid plate may flatten somewhat as downward pressure is applied to theframe when the latter is pressed over a sheet in printing relationthereto. The extent of the spacing between the plate B and the framewill depend upon the character and resiliency of the plate B and thedegree of flattening thereof that is desired.

Disposed over the exterior of the plate B is the matting C which servesas an mkpad for the stencil D. Said matting C may be and as herein shownis provided at its ends with hooks which engage. over the top edges ofthe plate B. Said hook construction on the matting C, it will beappreciated,

' stencil, which is conventionally formed with elongated openings (1, ispositioned over the heads of rivets G which are secured to one end wallI) of the perforated plate, as best shown in Fig. 2. The stencil is thendisposed over the matting C and its lower end clamped and tensioned atthe opposite end of the frame. As herein shown, this clamping andtensioning action is accomplished through the medium of the tensioningmeans F, which consist of a pair of L-shaped brackets H mounted on theexterior of the side members a, as indicated at k, the protruding end ofthe brackets extending downwardly beyond the end of the frame andproviding a limited space between the inner edge of saiddownwardly-extending arms and the end of the frame, within which spaceis positloned a tensioning bar J formed of any rigid material. Toprovide the necessary tension where'- by said bar J will function tosatisfactorily hold the end of the stencil in position, there isprovided at said end of the frame resilient means, such as a strip offelt or the like K, which, by its reactive force after being compressedby the tensioning bar J, W111 tend to hold said bar firmly in place overthe end of the stencil.

In the used? duplicating devices of the type described, I have found ithighly desirable for promoting the speed with which the duplicatingoperation is to be performed, to provide means for picking up the end ofthe imprinted sheet at the end of a printin operation so that the devicewill be ready or making its imprint upon the next underlying sheet. Toaccomplish this I employ a suitable means for causing adhesion betweenthe end of the printing surface and the sheet being imprinted upon, sothat when the end of the device is raised from the stack of aper beingimprinted, either in the course 0 raising the device bodily or rockingthe same upon its convex surface, the end of-the imprinted sheet will beraised and thus placed in position for facile removal from the stack. Itwill be apparent that this inventive concept is capable of variousembodiments, and

I have herein shown one such embodiment which I have found to bepracticable. It consists in disposing across the face of the stenciladjacent the end of the printing surface thereof a flexible strip'omaterial L stack. Many waxes, gums, resins and the like are suitable forthis purpose. To facilitate the mounting and disposition of the adhesivecarrying strip and its retention in proper place upon the stencil sheet,the strip L is preferably formed of an elastic material.

The use of my present device is quite analogous to that of handduplicators heretofore known and used, and in practice is as follows:The stencil D being suitably prepared, the matting C is first coatedwith ink, either with a brush upon its exterior surface or by placingorbrushin the ink over the inner surface of the perforated plate B, throuh which the ink Wlll pass onto the matting. e

stencil is then positioned over the matting by first mounting theperforated end over the rivets G and then securing the other end withthe tension bar J. The adhesive-carrying strip L is then positioned overthe face of the stencil. The device isnow ready for use and the printingoperation is performed by rocking the frame over the top sheet M of astack of paper m, in the course of which rocking action the perforatedplate or platen B, together with the matting and stencll, will flattensomewhat, whereby the stencil will thus remain in contact with thesurface being imprinted upon for a longer interval than would be thecase with a construction wherein the convex mounting of the stencil andits supporting elements are rigid. A clear cut and more uniformly darkimprint is thus obtained. At the end of the rocking action and as thedevice is either lifted bodily from the stack or is rocked backward, theend of the sheet M adheres to the strip L and is raised, as best shownat Fig. 1, thus facilitatin its removal from the stack m.

use it may be found that the ink from the pad G finds its way over theinterior surface of the plate B and tends to move outwardly through thespace between the cushion strip a of the frame and the plate B. Toovercome this the inner' bottom edges of the members a may be providedwith felt contact strips a normally pressing against the top surface ofthe plate B.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my inventionand the manner in which the same may be used, I do not wish to belimited to the various details of construction disclosed, since it willbe apparent to one skilled in the art that said details may be modifiedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A duplicator comprising a support having printing means mountedthereon adapted to engage over the sheet to be imprinted and a pick-upmeans for raising the imprinted sheet as the printing means is beingremoved therefrom.

2. A duplicator comprising a support having printing means mountedthereon adapted to engage over the sheet to be imprinted and a pick-upmeans, having greater adhesion for the imprinted sheet than two suchsheets have for each other, adapted to engage the imprinted sheet at thecompleting of the printing operation and raise the imprinted sheet asthe printing means is being removed threfrom.

3. A duplicator comprising a support having an acruate or rock'ableprinting surface, and means adjacent the end of said printing surfacehaving a strong adhesion for the sheet being imprinted upon.

4. A duplicator comprising'a support haviing an arcuate'or rockableprinting surface,

and an adhesive carrying means overlying the printing surface adjacentone of the rockable ends thereof.

5. A duplicator comprising a support having an arcuate bearing surface,a stencil disposed over said surface and means on said stencil adjacentone end thereof for causing adhesion thereto of the imprinted sheet, as

the support is rocked backward after completing the'printing operation.

6. A duplicator comprising a support having an arcuate bearing surface,a stencil disposed over said surface and an adhesive carrying stripdisposed across the stencil adjacent one end thereof.

7. A duplicator comprising a support having an arcuate bearing surface,a stencil disposed over said surface and an elastic adhesive carryingstrip carried by the support and disposed across the stencil adjacentone end thereof.

In witness vvhereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

EDWARD G. MoCALMONT.

